The five men accused of shooting to death six people on Jan. 23 in the San Bernardino County desert near El Mirage also robbed their victims, according to the criminal complaint filed this week in Superior Court.
The District Attorney’s Office has not disclosed what was taken, but Sheriff Shannon Dicus has said the groups met up for a marijuana deal under the cover of darkness at the intersection of two dirt roads about four miles east of Highway 395 and 25 miles northwest of Victorville.
It was then, according to the complaint, that four men opened fire with rifles.
If convicted as charged, all five could face the death penalty. District Attorney Jason Anderson has not said whether he would seek that.
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On Tuesday, Jan. 30, Toniel Baez-Duarte, 35, and brother Mateo Baez-Duarte, 24, who both live in Apple Valley, pleaded not guilty in Superior Court in Victorville to six counts of murder and six counts of second-degree robbery.
The three other defendants had not been arraigned because they have undisclosed medical issues not related to the shooting, Jacquelyn Rodriguez, a DA’s spokeswoman, said on Wednesday.
They are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, Feb. 1, on charges of murder and second-degree robbery: brothers Jose Nicolas Hernandez-Sarabia, 33, and Jose Gregorio Hernandez-Sarabia, 36; and Jose Manuel Burgos Parra, 26. All three live in Adelanto.
The five defendants were being held without bail after getting arrested on Monday.
They are accused of killing Baldemar Mondragon-Albarran, 34, of Adelanto; brothers Franklin Noel Bonilla, 22, and Kevin Dariel Bonilla, 25, both of Hesperia; a 45-year-old man whose identity officials were withholding until his family was notified; and two others not yet officially identified by authorities.
It was Franklin Bonilla who called 911 around 8:15 p.m. on Jan. 23 to report that he had been shot. Dispatchers pinged his phone to find the crime scene, which Franklin walked away from before dying.
The Sheriff’s Department had not disclosed whether it believes the defendants are members of a cartel, but Dicus has said their alleged actions point to organized crime. He said the competition among illicit marijuana growers often leads to violence.
The department has two dedicated marijuana investigation teams of seven members each. In 2023, Dicus said, deputies served 411 search warrants related to marijuana growing and seized 655,000 plants and also 74,000 pounds of processed marijuana in total worth more than $370 million.
Sgt. Derek Stokes, a member of the eradication teams, urged anyone who sees unusual activity or suspicious people in remote locations where clandestine growing operations can take place to call law enforcement.
“I wouldn’t approach those people,” Stokes said Wednesday.
